removing dodge 30.5 tanks?

[freestone]

How hard/involved is it to replace 30.5 gallon wing tanks with say the 24 gallon ones?

And do the 24 gallon tanks read more precisely in the guages, or is it basically the same?

thanks

 

[Yard Dart]

Where yours leaking?

 

[Yard Dart]

I buy them from you.

 

[Steve Pierce]

You will need the 4 inboard ribs and 3 sets of tank straps to change over. Not that hard but requres some fabric work. On the Atlee tank install the root rib is removed, the tank ribs are cut off under the tank and the flange is removed from the original outboard tank rib. You also have a lip pop riveted into the leading and trailing edge which should work fine with the 24 gallon tank.

 

[Yard Dart]

No problem.

 

[freestone]

Will the fabric work be noticeable?

And is there anyway to make the sight guages work better with the 30.5's if you don't put more than 8 gallons or so a side in?

thanks,

 

[sharp]

I think you have to really asked what you gain in all of the work.
I have Atlee tanks with clear tubing guages. The bottom the tubing indicates at 5 gals. If flying and fuel at 10 gal mark, you have an easy 1 hr remaining. Yes, with the larger tanks you lose accuracy, no argument. But before I would pull mine, I would install the plastic tubing (instead of the original site gauges) and install a flow computer from EI. In the end, you would even save money :lol: I like the 24 gal tanks, but just don't see enough reason for me to change.
Sharp

 

[ground loop]

Make a custom dip stick for your tanks.

 

[aktango58]

My bet is it might be easier to trade wings than switch tanks......

The clear tube sounds like a great way to go.

 

[freestone]

clear tube it is.

 

[ground loop]

The clear tube is better, but not good enough. The custom dip stick is more dependable, and coupled with the fuel flow and a watch it isn't half bad. The clear tube is the least reliable of the four in my experience.

 

[cubflier]

groundloop

Have you used a custom dipstick on Atlee tanks?

Jerry

 

[ground loop]

Cubflier,
I have for quite some time. They work well. On my plane the right and left tanks were different. Maybe someone could explain that one to me.

 

[freestone]

so by custom, you mean just make your own, right? and "calibrate" it by pouring in 5 gallon cans at a time?

thx

 

[mvivion]

The problem I've had with dipsticks is that if the airplane is on just a slight slope, or you've got 20 gallons in one wing and ten in the other, or you have a saggy bungee, the airplane may not be level.

If that's the case, all the custom dipsticks in the world won't read the actual fuel level very accurately.

And, it doesn't take much "tilt" to change the readings quite a bit.

Ten gallons is 60 pounds. It's pretty hard to tell ten gallons difference in these tanks, in my experience.

MTV

 

[behindpropellers]

If you are making clear fuel lines (gauges) you might want to look into using tygon fuel hose. This stuff will not get brittle and crack when fuel hits it.

Tim

 

[ground loop]

freestone,
That is exactly what i mean by custom. My old instructor Tom Wordleigh had me do this when i bought the plane. Another tip I am thankful for. I have flown exclusively the Atlee tanks for nearly 10 years and have never once had any problems with the sticks. Theoretically, mvivion is probably correct; however, I usually park on level ground/water. It was the stick that gave me the knowledge ythat my EI fuel flow was having a problem.

If someone invents a fuel management system that is foolproof and require no extra effort on each flight, every pilot will consider it regardless of type of aircraft or type of tank. But, I am still using stick, fuel flow, watch, sight guages.